Car Video Interface - Connect Video to Your Car Monitor

Nowadays the notion of car video interface or, as they are also called, video converters, are already often used by the installers and car electronics fans. However, for most car enthusiasts this term is unknown or appears to be some kind of some strange grey box. Like this one:

However, everything is plain and simple.

Car Video Interface Application

The video interface allows you to connect additional video devices to your OEM car monitor. These can be rear view camera, HD player and even aftermarket navigation box. At least two questions can come to your mind: why do I need all these video devices and why can't I simply connect them directly to the monitor. Here's our answer: first of all, OEM head units often have quite limited functionality – the navigation is rather poor or there is no navigation at all, HD player is not provided, video in motion is often locked. The answer to the second question is very simple – OEM monitors do not have additional connection inputs. Moreover, most car video devices are analogue and head units are digital. So in plain English, you need the device to provide inputs and convert the video signal. That's actually what the video interface does.

However, the video interface is able not only to connect the devices to the car display, you can also enjoy a number of additional features, such as:

touch screen control of the connected devices on the OEM display or aftermarket touch screen panels

playing video from the iPhone / iPod / Smartphone using the special adapter

displaying parking guidelines

PIP (picture in picture) function for BMW cars with wide screens. It allows you to use navigation on one part of the display and watch the film from the connected HD on another one.

Car Video Interface Selection

The video interface should be carefully matched to the specific car, not the brand or even the model, but to the specific car. The car brand, model, model year, the market it was manufactured for and in most cases type of the head unit or the display size should be taken into account when selecting the right device. You can ask why everything's so complicated? The reason is that the car manufacturers improve and develop the technical specifications not only of the engine, body and chassis, but also of the head units and monitors (for example, the screen resolution, video signal frequency, not to mention simply different connectors type). As a matter of fact even the cars of the same model year can be equipped with different head units.
Let's take Volkswagen Touareg of 2012 model year. It can have RCD550 multimedia system as well as RNS850 radio navigation system.

RCD550

RNS850

Consequently, the applicable video interfaces would be different.

Video interface for VW
with RCD550 system

Video interface for VW
with RNS850 system

Car Video Interface Installation

Mostly there is no Plug&Play connection of the video interfaces to the OEM car monitor. You have to disassemble the monitor and connect the sub-board between the main board and the LCD panel. That is why the installation should be done by the skilled car electronics installers.